IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/cog/socinc/v14y2026a10878.html

Becoming a “Good” Father in the Context of Czech Social Work

Author

Listed:
  • Barbora Gřundělová

    (Faculty of Social Studies, University of Ostrava, Czech Republic)

  • Jiří Mertl

    (Faculty of Social Studies, University of Ostrava, Czech Republic)

Abstract

This article explores how fatherhood is experienced by the clients of Czech family social workers, paying particular attention to how class, ethnic, and gender inequalities shape these experiences. Drawing on qualitative interviews with 11 fathers, the study employs a critical, intersectional, and structural social work perspective to analyse fathers’ narratives about their paternal identities and everyday lives. The findings reveal that fatherhood is constructed and negotiated within systemic constraints, such as insecure housing, precarious labour, and institutionalised gender norms. Fathers strive to embody the ideals of the “good” father, typically defined through breadwinning, but their efforts are undermined by structural exclusion and stigma. The study argues that paternal identity in contexts of social exclusion must be understood not as an individual trait, but as a politically and institutionally shaped phenomenon.

Suggested Citation

  • Barbora Gřundělová & Jiří Mertl, 2026. "Becoming a “Good” Father in the Context of Czech Social Work," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 14.
    • Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v14:y:2026:a:10878
    DOI: 10.17645/si.10878
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/10878
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.17645/si.10878?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Olszowy, Laura & Jaffe, Peter G. & Dawson, Myrna & Straatman, Anna-Lee & Saxton, Michael D., 2020. "Voices from the frontline: Child protection workers’ perspectives on barriers to assessing risk in domestic violence cases," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    2. Patricia Hill Collins, 2000. "Gender, Black Feminism, and Black Political Economy," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 568(1), pages 41-53, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Smriti Rao & Smita Ramnarain, 2023. "Gender, Social Protection, and Crises of Social Reproduction: Contextualizing NREGA," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 55(1), pages 70-92, March.
    2. Sarah Duffy & Michelle O’Shea & Liyaning Maggie Tang, 2023. "Sexually harassed, assaulted, silenced, and now heard: Institutional betrayal and its affects," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 1387-1406, July.
    3. Mbamba, Crispin Rakibu & Kpobi Ndemole, Ignatus & Madinatu Hassan, Sarah & Arthur, Isaac & Mountz, Sarah, 2022. "Practice approaches to combat child trafficking in trafficking-sensitive areas in Ghana: Experiences of practitioners involved in child trafficking interventions," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    4. Ijeoma Opara & Jasmine A. Abrams & Kristina Cross & Ndidiamaka Amutah-Onukagha, 2021. "Reframing Sexual Health for Black Girls and Women in HIV/STI Prevention Work: Highlighting the Role of Identity and Interpersonal Relationships," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(22), pages 1-14, November.
    5. Waheed, Muhammad Shahid & Taj, Naveera, 2025. "Ethnicity Matters: Correcting Cultural Bias in Social Models," MPRA Paper 126591, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Brian Littlechild, 2021. "Review Paper: ‘Discourses on the Place of Mothers Rights where They Are Subject to Domestic Violence within Child Protection Work in England’," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-13, September.
    7. Jessica Gordon-Nembhard, 2023. "Black Political Economy, Solidarity Economics, and Liberation: Toward an Economy of Caring and Abundance," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 55(4), pages 525-538, December.
    8. Benjamin Skinner & Taylor Burtch & Hazel Levy, 2024. "Variation in Broadband Access Among Undergraduate Populations Across the United States," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 65(5), pages 827-870, August.
    9. Perez-Brumer, Amaya & Valdez, Natali & Scheim, Ayden I., 2024. "The anti-gender threat: An ethical, democratic, and scientific imperative for NIH research/ers," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 351(S1).
    10. Bhattacharyya, Barnini & Erskine, Samantha E. & McCluney, Courtney, 2024. "Not all allies are created equal: An intersectional examination of relational allyship for women of color at work," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    11. Pahl, Kerstin & Williams, Sharifa Z. & Capasso, Ariadna & Lewis, Crystal Fuller & Lekas, Helen Maria, 2023. "A longitudinal pathway from ethnic-racial discrimination to sexual risk behaviors among Black women and Latinas: Ethnic-racial identity exploration as a protective factor," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 316(C).
    12. Dias, Daniela & Nunes, Rafaela & Coelho, Joana & Martinho, Gabriela & Santos, Anita, 2024. "Optimizing child protection systems: A systematic review of the literature on risk assessment practices," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    13. Nikolova, K. & Postmus, J.L. & Buttner, C. & Bosk, E.A., 2020. "Working together to protect women and children from domestic violence: Factors influencing willingness to collaborate between organizations," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    14. Jennifer L. Berdahl & Barnini Bhattacharyya, 2024. "Do White Women Gain Status for Engaging in Anti-black Racism at Work? An Experimental Examination of Status Conferral," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 193(4), pages 839-858, September.
    15. Areej Al-Hamad & Cheryl Forchuk & Abe Oudshoorn & Gerald Patrick Mckinley, 2023. "Listening to the Voices of Syrian Refugee Women in Canada: an Ethnographic Insight into the Journey from Trauma to Adaptation," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 1017-1037, September.
    16. Dakari Finister, 2024. "“Their reality is different”: On the Intersection of Racial and Financial Socialization," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 45(4), pages 952-964, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v14:y:2026:a:10878. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: António Vieira or IT Department (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.cogitatiopress.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.